Tinton Kirkwood Shark River Manasquan Vincentown Hornerstown Navesink/Mount Laurel Marshalltown/Wenonah
New Jersey Shark Teeth and Associated Fossils - Navesink/Mount Laurel Formation
Scapanorhynchus texanus (extinct goblin shark) teeth measure about 1.5 inch in lateral
length and are noted for their flat Mako tooth shape containing 1 or 2 lateral cusplets.
These are one of my favorite teeth from NJ Cretaceous.


Squalicorax pristodontus (Crow shark) teeth are abundant in the river beds of NJ.
Their characteristic curved shape make them easily identifiable.


Otodus appendiculatus (a member of the mackerel shark family, the species is often called "Cretolamna") teeth are anothor of my favorite teeth to collect.  A rugged little tooth with well pronounced cusplets - typically one on each side.  These teeth are not usually found any larger than 1/2 inch.
Paranomotodon angustidens (Thresher shark)
teeth can be distingushed by the wide and
relatively deep, smoothly contoured basal
root.  These teeth also tend to be small - about
less than an inch.
Most of the Ischyrhiza mira (Sclerorhynchid Sawfish)
rostral denticles. These denitcles are actually from the snout of
the shark and not teeth from the mouth.
Very few are found in NJ.
Cetorhinus (gill-raker) basking shark.  A filter-feeder that trapped plankton on rows of unique gill-raker denticles.
Carcharias and Striatolamia (Sandtiger) teeth
are very common in the river beds of
NJ and the teeth are quite diverse in shape.
The larger teeth are about  less than 2 inches.
Various shark and fish teeth, fish jaw, sea urchin spines. The polygonal tooth near the center is a pavement tooth of the primitive eagle ray Brachyrhizodus wichitaensis Romer, 1942, in basal view. The tooth in the upper right of the photo on the right is a more typical Squalicorax pristodontus than those figured above. The four shiny, rounded, elongate teeth are isolated lower (prearticular) toothplate teeth of the pycnodont bony fish Anomoeodus latidens Gidley, 1913 [A. robustus (Leidy, 1857) is larger].



Appears to be a fish head.
Click here to see
more detailed photos



A small 0.75"
long mussel.
A rare find.



Belemnitella americana.
The one in the back is 4.75" long.
Click here to read more on the belemnitella



Cretaceous gastropods (snails).



Cretaceous coprolite (animal waste). The first twophotos are reptilian, the third through fifth photos are from a shark.


Vertebrae in order from left to right: mosasaur vertebra (top row, 1st 3 photos - in posterodorsal, anterodorsal, and dorsal views), a big ray vertebral centrum probably B. wichitaensis, shark and ray, shark and ray, and lastly from various fish.



The hook-like "Pycnodont" teeth are actually pharyngeal teeth of Hadrodus priscus Leidy, 1858 (often called "Stephanodus"), a bony fish a bit more primitive than the pycnodonts.
The longest one measures 3/8".



Ghost shrimp Callianassa mortoni Pilsbry, 1901.
(range about 1" long).



The photo at left, on the left side, is a badly worn rt. palatine of the sabre-toothed fish Enchodus ferox Leidy, 1855. In the middle photo, the bottom row is mostly the lower (dentary) fangs of E. ferox (some E. petrosus Cope, 1874 may also be present - ferox has a fine serration on the carina of the fangs that petrosus doesn't have). The upper row is rostral denticles of Ischyrhiza mira (broken tips at the right). In the photo at the right, the tooth tip 2nd from the far right of the bottom row is mosasaur.



Large bone fragment (dinosaur? or mosasaur?).



Small bone fragment.



The long, thin, regular sea urchin spines appear to be Cidaris splendens Morton, 1841, although that species is generally from the Vincentown. (about 1.5" long)



Coral or rock? (3" x 2").



The small articulate brachiopods at the bottom of the page appear to be Chloristothyris plicata (Say, 1820), although that species is better known from the lt. Cret./e. Paleo. Hornerstown Fm. (about 0.5" long)



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Click here to see dinosaur footprints and tracks from New Jersey

Click here to see amber from New Jersey

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Note:  A few of the teeth here are not from my collection. The photos are from my favorite
fossil shark tooth webpage ELASMO.COM.  They represent the same species that
I've collected in NJ. Once I get my photos scanned I'll replace the ones I borrowed.

















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